A brilliant musical of an Australian classic returns
The AJN reviews the Melbourne Theatre Company musical, My Brilliant Career, which is back for a return season ahead of touring.
If you missed seeing Kala Gare’s powerhouse performance when the homegrown Australian musical My Brilliant Career premiered in Melbourne in 2024 to five-star reviews and a sellout season, get along to the return season by the MTC which has just opened at Southbank Theatre, The Sumner before going on tour.
Inspired by Miles Franklin’s 1901 novel My Brilliant Career, the musical has been created by Mathew Frank (music), Dean Bryant (book and lyrics) and Sheridan Harbridge (book) and directed by MTC artistic director Anne-Louise Sarks.
It’s an uplifting production with plenty of entertainment but enough dramatic twists to keep the audience engrossed, performed by a talented cast who are accomplished musicians and skilled acrobats as well as being able to act, sing and dance.
Gare plays the demanding role of Sybylla Melvyn, a teenager growing up in the harsh world of an outback dairy farm during the drought-stricken 1890s.
She dreams of a life as a published author, but her reality is far less glamorous living with her long-suffering mother (Christina O’Neill), her desperate alcoholic father (Drew Livingstone) and her younger siblings Gertie (Melanie Bird) and Jimmy (Lincoln Elliott).
Her fortune changes when she moves to the mansion of her snobbish grandmother (Ana Mitsikas) and can immerse herself in music and books.
It is here that she meets potential suitors in wealthy landowner Harry (Raj Labade) and visiting posh young Englishman Frank (Cameron Bajraktarevic-Hayward) and has to face some major decisions.
Her future is further complicated when circumstances force her to become a governess, but Sybylla never deviates from her determination to follow her dreams.
Gare is centre stage for the entire two-hour production, the driving force with her powerful voice, likeable personality, impish humour and great comic timing. She displays feistiness and sensitivity bundled with boundless energy, singing in a range of styles including pop, rock and ballad.
Throughout the musical Gare pauses to address the audience, often with humour and witty asides.
On stage Gare is supported by a talented ensemble of actor-musicians led by musical director Victoria Falconer on violin. All cast members except Gare play multiple roles.
Gare is a graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts and also has a Diploma in Classical Piano. She starred in the Australian premiere season of Six the Musical as Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII.
My Brilliant Career is at Southbank Theatre, The Sumner until February 28 before touring to Canberra (March 7-15), Sydney (March 21-April 26) and Wollongong (May 8-17). Melbourne season bookings: https://www.mtc.com.au
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